References

The world's first remote towers

Delivered and approved for operation

The first remotely controlled airports in the world were developed and brought into operation by Saab and have now been in operation since April 21st, 2015. Approved by the Swedish Transport Agency according to the same regulations as conventional air traffic control. By now, this innovative system has been tested in all kinds of harsh environments and has been installed in different parts of the world.

Last updated: 17 October 2018 • 15:56

UK

London City Airport and NATS have chosen Saab as the technology provider for a test installation to remotely control London City Airport.

Cranfield University, one of the top four commercial research universities in United Kingdom, selected Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions to deliver a digital air traffic control system to Cranfield Airport

Ireland

Cork and Shannon

In 2015 Saab signed a contract with Irish Aviation Authority for a RTC with multiple operations in Dublin controlling Cork and Shannon airports.

US

Leesburg Airport

Trials are currently being conducted at Leesburg, VA in the United States.

The Netherlands

Schipol, Groningen

Due to a combination of being a long distance away as well as partly hidden from the traditional tower, we have a remote runway system installed at Schiphol airport monitoring their fifth runway.

Sweden

Örnsköldsvik, Sundsvall

Since April 2015 the airport in Örnsköldsvik has been controlled via the Swedish Air Navigation Service Provider (LFV) Remote Tower Centre (RTC) in Sundsvall, and since November 2016 Sundsvall Timrå Airport has also been controlled via the same RTC in Sundsvall. Linköping airport in Sweden will become operational as the third such airport.

In December 2016 a letter of intent was signed with Scandinavian Mountains Airport AB to provide remote air traffic services to the airport located at Rörbäcksnäs between Sälen, Sweden and Trysil, Norway. When the contract is signed, it be the first airport in the world built without a conventional air traffic control tower.

In November 2017 Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions was selected by LFV to provide the second generation of remote digital air traffic control to the airports in Malmö, Östersund, Umeå and Kiruna.

Contingency operations

Swedavia, Sweden

Contingency trials have been conducted within the SESAR framework at Landvetter Airport, the second largest airport in Sweden. Unplanned events such as systems failure, fire or threat to the tower building can heavily reduce the capacity of the airport or force it to close, which would have severe effects on the air traffic in the region.

The trials showed that investment in Saab Remote Tower technology is a cost-efficient contingency alternative. In addition, it supports a high traffic capacity by providing the controllers with a high quality live video feed of the maneuvering area and aerodrome in the vicinity of the airport.